Amex throws $100M at its biggest problem: suiting up for the digital revolution

American Express has just earmarked a $100 million fund to “identify and develop innovative technologies that will help… accelerate the company’s digital transformation.”

The company, which was founded in 1849, is now establishing a Silicon Valley office to stay on top of the latest developments in mobile and finance technologies.

The new office and fund will be led by Harshul Sanghi, the former head of Motorola Mobility Ventures.

“As we enter the next chapter in … Continue Reading

Tired of keeping track of receipts? Lemon.com can help

Lemon.com wants all of your receipts. Instead of having receipts pile up in your inbox, or letting them become an indiscernible wad of paper in your wallet, you can send them to Lemon.com where they’ll be instantly filed and organized.

The service provides you a lemon.com email address to enter when shopping online. When receipts are emailed to you after a purchase, it automatically filters out the relevant purchasing data. You can also take photos … Continue Reading

Twitter VC Fred Wilson’s first late-stage investment: $25M for Lending Club

Union Square Ventures made its first late-stage investment today, leading a $25 million raise for peer-to-peer lending startup Lending Club.

This was the startup’s fourth round, and it represents a break in Union Square co-founder Fred Wilson’s pre-2008 investment philosophy.

For several years, Wilson, a veteran investor and blogging firebrand, had held the opinion that seed investments were actually less risky than late-stage deals. In 2007, he wrote on his blog, “As a VC making … Continue Reading

LearnVest unveils new free and premium tools to simplify financial planning

LearnVest, the financial planning site aimed at women, is launching some major new free and premium features today that will make it an even more indispensable tool for taking charge of your finances.

The company will now offer free access to the LearnVest My Money Center, which lets you link all of your financial accounts and track your spending with an email-like folder system, as well as the Take Control Bootcamp, a 10-day action-oriented email … Continue Reading

Ask the accountant: Do I have to send form 1099s?

This series is brought to you by TurboTax Home & Business Edition – Guides You to Your Biggest Tax Refund. As always, VentureBeat is adamant about maintaining editorial objectivity. TurboTax had no involvement in the content of this post.

This week’s tax question:

My business had subcontracted employees and paid them through their own LLCs. Do I need to provide them with Form 1099s?

We passed the question on to Betty Kayton, who assists startup … Continue Reading

VC investing rebounds in Q2, still at mid-1990s levels

This series is brought to you by TurboTax Home & Business Edition – Guides You to Your Biggest Tax Refund. As always, VentureBeat is adamant about maintaining editorial objectivity. TurboTax had no involvement in the content of this post.

This week’s tax question:

My business had subcontracted employees and paid them through their own LLCs. Do I need to provide them with Form 1099s?

We passed the question on to Betty Kayton, who assists startup … Continue Reading